Ekal Foundation honored with iconic Gandhi Peace Prize

New York: Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation, a global organization dedicated to integrated village development in rural India was recently honored with the most prestigious National Award in India for social work.

On February 26th, Ekal Abhiyan Trust, Ekal’s umbrella organization was bestowed with 'Mahatma Gandhi Peace Prize’ for the year 2017 for its contribution in providing education to rural & tribal children and for providing empowerment with gender social equality in remote parts of India.

This prize is conferred by the government of India under the chairmanship of the prime minister, chief justice, leader of the largest opposition party and many others. The ceremony took place at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi and was graced by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On behalf of Ekal the award was received by M.L. Jain, a senior trustee of Ekal Abhiyan. This unique honor carries a grant of Rs. 1 crore, a citation, and a plaque to commemorate the distinction. This prize was instituted in 1995 on 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi to highlight his concept of Gram Swaraj Model.

Currently, EVF supports 82,000 Ekal-schools across rural-tribal pockets of India and grooming almost 2.2 million children – more than half of which are girls. Ekal is empowering village folks, not only through adult education classes related to healthcare and environmental issues, but also, by preparing them for cottage-industries with skill-development training.